Rare photos, letters to offer a glimpse into Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj's life

KOLHAPUR: A week-long exhibition of rare photos, documents and letters from the era of Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj will mark the 140th birth anniversary of the legendary leader on June 26. The exhibits from the Kolhapur archives, the department of Archives of Maharashtra, will shed new light on the life and times of Shahu Maharaj. The exhibition will be organized from June 26-30 at Shahu Smarak Bhavan, Dasara chowk. This year, the archives department will exhibit rare documents related to the adoption of Shahu Maharaj, his coronation and correspondence done by him and letters he received. Ganesh Khodke, officer in-charge of Kolhapur archives, said, "Every year, we organize the exhibition of the documents related to Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj to pay tribute to his work for the people and to let young generation and other people to know about his work. The exhibition includes a number of rare documents like the orders and circulars published by Shahu Maharaj to his administration regarding welfare of people." "Shahu Maharaj took the reign of the erstwhile princely state of Kolhapur about 120 years ago. This year, the archives department will be exhibiting the rare documents related to the adoption of the Shahu Maharaj, his coronation and correspondence done by him and letters he received during that period," he said. Many documents in the exhibit have never been displayed in public and will throw light on the history of Shahu era. This will help historians, students of history and common people understand the Shahu Maharaj and his philosophy in details, he said. A press release from the department stated that along with the documents, the exhibition will highlight the work done by Shahu Maharaj for the welfare of the people belonging to backward community, orders passed for their welfare, rare correspondence regarding provision of education for all and setting up of schools and hostels in Kolhapur princely state. The exhibition will also include correspondence and documents that led to the development in health sector, arts, paintings and sports which helped Kolhapur to create its image in the British India. The exhibition will also throw light on the steps taken to tackle the drought faced by the princely state in 1900. This involves the orders regarding construction of irrigation facilities such as lakes, bunds, canals and cattle shelters. The Kolhapur archive has more than 1.5 crore documents and 90% of them are in Modi script. The oldest document is from Shivaji era belonging to year 1660. The documents include diaries, handwritten letters, reports, records and gazettes of the Shivaji era. Most of the researchers approach the archive to study the life and time of Shahu Maharaj, his administration, correspondence, decisions, orders and other aspects related to his life. Keeping this in mind the archive has taken up the work of digitization of documents of Shahu era (1888 to 1922) and has completed digitization of 16,000 letters received and addressed to him. It also includes the letters sent by him to people in all discipline, including the British government and freedom fighters. The exhibition will include the letters and documents that will shed new light on the life of Shahu Maharaj.